


Photograph

by JustCallMeHermione



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-18 12:32:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2348582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustCallMeHermione/pseuds/JustCallMeHermione
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lin and Tenzin reminisce about their time together thanks to some photographs and long lost jewelry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Photograph

**A/N: Hey guys!! I’m pretty sure I wrote something similar to this a while back, but I have been inspired by an awesome new album courtesy of one of my favorite ginger singers. I really hope it’s not terrible; it is the first thing I’ve written in a very long time. Please enjoy!! Oh, I almost forgot, if you’d like to listen, the song that inspired this piece is called Photograph by Ed Sheeran, off of his album “X”**

 

            _They were standing just under a lamppost on the corner of her street. The soft, warm glow illuminated her features, giving her an aura of amber. He gazed at her with awe, she was the most beautiful girl he ever laid eyes upon, but he wasn’t sure if he would be able to express that to her, so he stood there silently basking in her glow._

_She smiled at him, “I had a great time with you.” He nodded, still unsure of what to say._

_Feeling that familiar vibe of her friend’s uneasiness, she continued, “This was one of the greatest nights of my life. I know I’ll remember it for a very long time to come.”_

_“Me too,” he managed to get out._

_“Well, it’s getting kind of late and Mother will want me up early again tomorrow for more training so I better get home,” she reasoned, wanting to help her friend by ending his uneasiness. She smiled one last time at him before she turned toward her house._

_Before she could take a step, he managed to grab her hand and spin her around. He looked straight into her sage eyes, feeling an even deeper connection with his lifelong friend._

_“Lin,” he whispered, “I--I love you…” Before she had the chance to respond, he tilted his head, leaned forward and brushed his lips chastely against hers. She responded by grabbing the back of his smooth head and keeping her lips on his. His hand instinctively went up and his fingers intertwined with her loose black hair. After a few moments of their first embrace, the two pulled away slightly, still with their arms wrapped around each other. Blushes apparent on both their faces._

_Tenzin smiled sheepishly at Lin. “I-I hope you had a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” he stammered._

_She smiled, “Thank you, Tenzin. Thank you for everything. I love you too. I’ll see you soon.”_

_The new lovers parted ways, returning to their own beds to reflect on the night and replay their first kiss so it was forever emblazoned in their minds._

 

...

 

“I’m almost done dear,” Tenzin reassured Pema, “I’ll have the last of the boxes cleared out of this room, and then we can start setting up the nursery.”

“Fine,” she sighed, “Do you mind if we take a break after, my ankles are starting to swell again.”

He smiled, “Of course dear, I’ll finish this up then make us some soothing tea. Why don’t you get cozy in the living room?"

“Sounds like a plan,” she said, getting up and planting a kiss on the top of his baldhead.

Tenzin watched her leave the room, and then turned his attention to the boxes that lie on the floor. He stooped over to grab a box, and then stopped half way down. In the box next to the one he was grabbing, he noticed a book. A book he hadn’t opened in years. A thin layer of dust covered the black spine. He reached for it and thumbed through the hard, plastic pages. He stopped and flipped the book open to a random page. There, in black and white, was his smiling face, with far fewer wrinkles and no arrow on his forehead. Next to him was an equally ecstatic Lin, with longer, darker hair cascading down past her shoulders. Underneath it, the two were sticking out their tongues at the camera while holding their fingers up behind their heads like saber-tooth moose-lion antlers. Below that picture, Lin’s lips were pressed against Tenzin’s scarlet cheek, his blush so bright he knew it was there even though the photo was in black and white. And directly under that picture was the two kissing on the lips. Both sets of eyes closed, Lin’s head slightly inclined up towards his taller figure. Tenzin fondly remembered that day…

 

_“Come on Ten! The festival will be so much fun! I heard they have this new stall where you can get this stuff called Spirit floss. It’s light and fluffy and comes in a bunch of different fruit flavors! We can eat a ton of the stuff before we’re full!” Lin encouraged Tenzin._

_“Okay Lin, we’ll go, only because you really want to and because it’s your birthday.” Tenzin conceded. Lin gave him a peck on the cheek and the biggest smile in the world._

_“Thank you!” she gushed, “This will be one of my best birthdays yet!”_

_Tenzin smiled. He loved seeing this side of his girlfriend. She was always passionate about things and knew how to express and really feel her emotions, and when she did it, he absolutely loved it. He knew she was comfortable with him enough to be herself. He thought about how much the two had grown together their whole lives, but even more so in their courtship._

_At the festival, Tenzin found himself in another new contraption. This one was a small booth with a camera inside. You paid one Yuan and the camera would take four pictures of you and anyone you were with and then make several copies of the pictures. Lin wanted to capture the moment, her soon to be favorite birthday, at this amazing festival with her awesome boyfriend. He agreed to go in and had to admit he actually liked it. After the surprise last pose, all he could think about was Lin and how much he loved her. He was now very eager to give her the birthday present he had spent so much time and money on._

 

...

 

It was a rare day for Lin: she had the entire day off. Even if she wasn't at the station, she was at least on call, waiting to spring into action. This time she was completely off, a well-deserved day at that. She noticed her apartment had been getting a little cluttered so she decided to spend a large part of the day tidying the place up. She had started in the kitchen, scrubbing everything until it shined in the early morning sunshine. She worked her way around the house, moving to the bathroom, her study, the living room, until she finally reached her bedroom. She had started by organizing her closet, and then her dresser drawers. She then changed the sheets on her bed and swept the floor clean. She had sat down in front of her vanity and began to organize the little make-up and jewelry she owned.

      She carefully opened her ornate jewelry box, a family heirloom that had been in her mother's family for generations. She carefully took out each little piece and laid them out on a towel so she could polish and clean them. She went to pull out what she thought was an earring, but instead of a tiny piece coming out of the box, a tiny door slid open, revealing a long forgotten secret compartment. Slowly lifting the necklace out, tears began to form in her eyes as she remembered the story behind the piece she had kept hidden, trying to forget about its existence.

 

...

 

_“Hey Lin,” Tenzin suggested, “Why don’t we go on that big round thing that spins slow and lights up?”_

_“The Ferris wheel?” she tried to put the name to what he was describing._

_“Yeah! The Ferris wheel! What do you say?”_

_“Ten, you know how I feel about not being on the ground,” she hesitated._

_“I know, but you’ll be fine You’re lucky, you’ll be one of the few people who could go up one and be guaranteed safety because you were with an airbender,” he assured her, “It’ll be just like flying on Oogi!”_

_“Okay…” she gave in. Tenzin grabbed her hand and lead her toward the Ferris wheel._

_Tenzin’s heart rate sped up the closer they got to the ride. He was nervous to give Lin her present. He prayed to the Spirits that she liked it._

_Tenzin handed a ticket to the attendant and the attendant let the couple pass. He waited for them to sit on the seat closest to the bottom of the wheel, and then walked over to secure the lap bar over them. The attendant turned and hit a button on a nearby control panel, and then the Ferris wheel began to slowly ascend. Lin was taking slow, counted breaths to calm herself. To help ease the anxiety, Tenzin put an arm over her shoulder and began to gently rub her arm. Lin slowly melted into the crook of his arm. He placed a gentle kiss on her temple. The Ferris wheel made two rotations and began to ascend again. When the couple’s chair reached the peak, the Ferris wheel stopped. Lin was now completely relaxed. The couple gazed over the city skyline. They could just barely see the top of Air Temple Island._

_“I like this,” Lin stated._

_“The view is as marvellous as ever,” Tenzin agreed._

_“Thank you again, Tenzin. This has been a very memorable birthday,” Lin reassured him, pulling out the pictures from earlier in the evening and smiling at their images._

_“Well it’s not over quite yet,” Tenzin reminded her. He pulled a little box out of his inner robe pocket and presented it to her._

_“Ten, you didn’t have to get me anything…” she began._

_“Shush,” he quieted her gently, “You deserve all the gifts in the world. I just wish I could get you more presents, more often.”_

_“I like that you don’t, though. It makes each trinket even more special,” she smiled at him._

_“Well then open it! The suspense is killing me!” Tenzin ushered._

_Lin tugged at the shiny gold ribbon that was holding the box open. She slowly lifted the lid on the box. Her eyes widened at the contents. Lying on a small green cushion inside the box was a pendant. Engraved in the pendant were two doves sitting side by side on a flowering plum tree. There was a little latch on the side. If you pulled on it, the pendant opened up and revealed a tiny compartment. On the back of the tiny door there was an inscription. It read: “Two bodies. One spirit,”_

_“Tenzin, you shouldn’t have!” she protested._

_“Shh,” he whispered, picking up the gift. “Turn around, let me put it on you,” he told her._

_She complied. She lifted the hair off the nape of her neck. Tenzin gingerly placed the necklace on her throat and tied it tightly so he’d be sure she never lost it. Lin turned around._

_“How does it look?” she ventured._

_“Absolutely stunning,” he reassured before grabbing her chin and pulling it towards his. Their lips met like they had so many times before, only this time there was more passion, more love behind the kiss._

_The two lovers broke apart when they heard the clearing of a man’s throat nearby. Turning from one another, Lin and Tenzin realized the ride was over and the attendant was waiting for them to vacate their seat so more people could enjoy the ride. The two blushed and clumsily climbed out of the seat and walked off to the side, away from the throngs of people._

_“Thank you, Ten. This gift is wonderful,” Lin told her boyfriend._

_“You’re welcome,” he smiled back._

_“What do I do with the tiny compartment?” She asked fingering the tiny latch on the side of the pendant._

_“Here,” Tenzin said, reaching over and untying the necklace from her neck, “How about this?” He took one of the copies of the photo strips and carefully ripped off one of the pictures. He folded the corners and stuck the picture the best he could in the little opening._

_“That’ll do for now,” she told him, regarding her birthday present with reverence._

_“We can make it so the picture fits perfectly in a little while. I’ll just need to save up some money first. The jeweler said that that was custom. Well that or keeping a lock of your love’s hair in it and seeing as I don’t have any…” He trailed off as Lin chuckled._

_“I love it! Just the way it is. We don’t have to fix it,” she assured him._

_After walking a ways, realization dawned on Lin. If she wore this around his mother or anyone from that side of his family, they might think that she and Tenzin were engaged to be married. She began to think about all of the implications this had and grew nervous. Turning to Tenzin, she tried to voice her thoughts._

_“So does this mean… well…” Lin wasn’t sure how to form the question that had been plaguing her mind since she opened the box._

_“What do you mean?” Tenzin replied quizzically._

_“Well, you know… in the Water Tribe, and you are part Water Tribe, not just all Air Nomad… and well necklaces similar to this…” Lin did not want to say the words because she was scared of their implications. She loved Tenzin with all her heart and spirit, but they were still very young. She wasn’t ready for this type of commitment._

_“Oh, I see,” Tenzin realized, “Lin, I do love you very much, but no. This is not a betrothal necklace. Although one day, in the future I’d really like it to be, well not that one in particularly…” Tenzin stumbled over his explanation, the nervousness of presenting the present to her coming back to the boy._

_He cleared his throat before continuing, “Think of this as a birthday gift and a promise. A promise that one day, when you and I are both ready and willing, we will be married.”_

_She smiled, thinking of the very distant future, excited that he was planning to spend all that time with her. “Thank you,” she breathed. She not only thanked him for the wonderful birthday present, but also for understanding and taking a huge pressure off of her._

_“Happy sixteenth birthday, Lin. Here’s to many more,” Tenzin cheered, then grabbed her face and planted a sloppy kiss in her lips._

_She laughed and tried to squirm away from the wetness his mouth._

 

**A/N: Okay, so I’d like to make this piece short and sweet, but I don’t think I can manage that. I feel that the two “present day” story arcs should connect some how too. So, if you’d like to see how that happens please read on, past this little blurb. If you want to spare yourself from what I feel is a hot mess, then please just end the story here. Your feedback would really be appreciated, so if you could comment me on here or tumblr (justcallmehermione) please feel free to comment/message me. I would really appreciate.**

 

…

 

            The necklace had not changed at all over the years. It looked practically identical to when she first received it. Lin sighed as she set it aside. That one piece of jewelry still had a lot of meaning to her. A part of her resented the fact that it still existed, but for the most part she was glad she still had it. Her relationship with Tenzin had been a very large, very extraordinary part of her life. It helped her grow and make her into the woman she was today. This small trinket was one of many that had held lots of memories of that special time in her life.

            Lin went to work, carefully cleaning and polishing each bit of jewelry. Just as she was about to polish the necklace from her sixteenth birthday, the phone began to ring. She was going to ignore, but some voice in the back of her head told her it was important and that she should answer right away. Even though it was her day off, her high position on the police force still required most of her attention.

            “Beifong,” Lin declared after picking up the receiver.

            “Lin,” a male voice breathed.

            “Who is this?” she demanded.

            “Lin,” the voice said again, this time a bit louder, but still more of a whisper, “It’s me…”

            “Tenzin?” she realized, “Why are you calling? Better question: why are you whispering?”

            “I…” he began still at a whisper, “I just wanted…” His voice was interrupted. Lin could hear someone talking in the background.           

            After a few moments of a muffled conversation on the other end, Tenzin spoke, this time in normal tones, “Lin, I’m calling because I wanted to say hi.”

            Lin snorted, “Really? You see me at least once a week at work and have for the past decade or so, and not once in all these years have you called just to say hi. Better yet, you’ve only ever called for business. What’s this about?” she demanded.

            Tenzin sighed audibly, “I’m sorry,” was all he managed to say.

            “Come again?” Lin retorted.

            “I’m sorry Lin. I’m sorry for anything and everything I could have ever done to need your forgiveness. I just wanted to let you know that I lov-- that I still care a lot about you and want you to be happy.”

            “Seriously?” she deadpanned, “Again, why say this after all this time?”

            “Well, I was cleaning up some of my old things and I found our scrapbook,” he explained.

            Lin gasped.

            “Lin? Is everything alright?” he inquired.

            “Spirits, fate is a funny thing,” she managed to say.

            “What do you mean?” he prodded further.

            “Well, I was cleaning up a bit today too,” Lin began.

            Tenzin chuckled, “That is coincidental.”

            “That’s not what I mean, let me finish, Airhead,” Lin snapped.

            “Sorry,” he apologized, “Go on.”

            “Well, I was cleaning and I just so happened to uncover an artifact from long ago.”

            “Really? What was it?”

            “ _The_ necklace,” Lin announced.

            “What? The betrothal one? I thought you buried it…”

            “ I did. I’m talking about the _other_ one.”

            “Oh,” realization dawned on him, “That is a coincidence indeed.” By this point, tears were forming in both people’s eyes. A knot was beginning to form in Lin’s throat. She tried coughing to dislodge it, but was unsuccessful.

            After another moment’s silence, Tenzin whispered her name again, “Lin…”

            “Hmm?” was all she managed to get out.

            “I love you,” he murmured. A tear escaped, trickling down Lin’s cheek.

            “Tenzin, don’t,” she managed to get out.

            “Again, I am terribly sorry,” he confessed in low tones, “I do like my life now, but I really miss you.”

            “Ten-,”

            “No. Don’t say anything. Please meet me for lunch tomorrow? I’d really like to be able to at least be friends again.”

            “Okay,” she whispered.

            He smiled, “Thank you, Lin. I’ll see you soon.”

            Before he hung up the phone, Tenzin heard a faint voice on the other end of the line whispering “I love you too.”

 

**A/N: Well, there is my alternate/extended ending. Please subscribe for more and message/comment your thoughts and critiques! Happy Reading!**

           

           

 

 


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